For the 21st century warming and drying of summers in Hungary are projected to be more extreme than the hemispheric average. Climate change impact studies in the region show that recurrent droughts cause growth decline and mortality of zonal forests at their lower (xeric) limit of distribution. Forests affect the climate through their influence on surface energy fluxes and on water cycle that alter the climate change signal. Biogeophysical feedbacks of forest cover changes on the climate have been investigated for two forest cover scenarios in the 21st century, using the regional climate model REMO. For 2021-2025 the model has been driven by the potential afforestation concept (Járó and Führer 2005) assuming 7% increase of forest cover in country mean. In the same time period as well as at the end of the 21st century (2071-2100), effects of maximal afforestation (forests over all vegetated area) have been studied.The potential afforestation has no significant influence on the climate of Hungary. For the maximal afforestation case study (2071-2100), the expected tendency of drying may be mitigated. The largest increase of precipitation has been projected to the northeastern region, where 50% of the climate change signal can be compensated, if there is enough available water in the soil. Regarding to surface temperature, the evaporative cooling effect of forests seems to dominate.Analysing the results it has to be taken into account that in the simulations forest cover change was performed on a limited area, and the effects appear partly in adjacent regions. Also, because of the uncertainty of certain temperate forest cover parameters, results of future field measurements are needed to improve model precision, especially at higher spatial resolution.

Führer, E.; Rédei, K. and Csiha, I. 2003: The role of fast growing tree species in the afforestation programme of the Great Hungarian Plain (the Alföld). Afforestations in Europe experiences and prospects. Prace Instytut u Badawczego Lesnictwa. 93-100.

Jacob, D. 2001: A note to the simulation of the annual and inter-annual variability of the water budget over the Baltic Sea drainage basin. Meteorology and Atmosphere Physics, 77: 61-73. DOI: 10.1007/s007030170017

Führer, E.; Rédei, K. and Csiha, I. 2003: The role of fast growing tree species in the afforestation programme of the Great Hungarian Plain (the Alföld). Afforestations in Europe experiences and prospects. Prace Instytut u Badawczego Lesnictwa. 93-100.

Jacob, D. 2001: A note to the simulation of the annual and inter-annual variability of the water budget over the Baltic Sea drainage basin. Meteorology and Atmosphere Physics, 77: 61-73. DOI: 10.1007/s007030170017

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